On the last day of 2013, shoppers walked through the stacks at the Barnes & Noble in Sundance Square, a block-long store on Commerce Street that had been open since 1996. Some of the stock was marked down by half. That same afternoon, the store at University Park Village closed at 6 p.m. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's archive piece says the two closures left the store near Hulen Mall as the last Barnes & Noble in Fort Worth. Much of the old downtown space is now a Cheesecake Factory.
Nearly 13 years later, the city's first new store is in a north Fort Worth shopping center. Barnes & Noble's grand opening at Presidio Junction, 2329 Porter Creek Drive, is set for Wednesday, Nov. 4. A second Fort Worth store at Montgomery Plaza follows two weeks later.
For people who live around Alliance, Heritage and Presidio, this changes the Saturday errand loop. Before Nov. 4, the closest Barnes & Noble stores were all outside Fort Worth, in Southlake or Hurst. Meanwhile, a few small independent shops in Keller and Roanoke kept selling books in this part of North Texas by fitting into smaller spaces.
How the map got lopsided
The 2013 closures happened for two different reasons. The Star-Telegram reported that Barnes & Noble closed the downtown store for economic reasons. It closed University Park Village because the new landlord, Glimcher Realty Trust, wanted to raise the rent. Both stores were in the city's core. Once they closed, Fort Worth had one Barnes & Noble left, and the company's own store page describes that Hulen Center location at 4801 Overton Ridge Blvd. as serving South Fort Worth.
That left north Fort Worth readers driving to stores in other cities. Barnes & Noble's locator still lists the Southlake Town Square store at 1430 Plaza Place and the Shops at North East Mall store at 861 NE Mall Blvd. in Hurst. Both are open, and both are a drive from Presidio.
Here is the full sequence:
- 1996: Barnes & Noble opens in Sundance Square.
- Dec. 31, 2013: The Sundance Square and University Park Village stores close on the same day, leaving Hulen as the only Fort Worth location.
- May 2026: Barnes & Noble files plans with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation to retrofit a 12,000-square-foot space at Presidio Towne Crossing.
- July 6, 2026: Construction starts on a 20,000-square-foot store in the former Office Depot at Montgomery Plaza.
- Nov. 4, 2026: The Presidio Junction store holds its grand opening.
- Nov. 18, 2026: The Montgomery Plaza store is scheduled to open at 401 Carroll Street.
The Fort Worth Report put the history this way: Barnes & Noble once had three Fort Worth locations, four counting the TCU campus store, and "will soon have three again." The north side's store opens first.
Why a strip center, and why now
The Presidio store isn't a one-off. The Fort Worth Report quoted JLL retail analyst Rob Franks saying Barnes & Noble is in the middle of a major expansion. He said it's driven by strong sales at existing stores and a "local bookstore" strategy that gives individual store managers more say. According to the same report, the chain opened stores in Allen, Flower Mound and Richardson in 2024 and expects to open more than 60 new bookstores nationally in 2026. A store recently opened in Burleson, and another is planned in Mansfield at the Shops at Broad.
That approach explains the location. Presidio Towne Crossing is an everyday shopping center, and a bookstore there gets the traffic people already bring for groceries and household runs. The Star-Telegram lists HomeGoods, Ross, Aldi, Whataburger, Chick-fil-A, Petco, Old Navy, Sephora, Shoe Carnival, Five Below, Daiso and Rally House among the tenants in the Presidio Junction cluster.
The center also changed hands this year. On March 16, Younger Partners bought a 375,000-square-foot portfolio that included Presidio Towne Crossing, Tehama Towne Crossing and Vista Ridge, the Fort Worth Report reported. The Star-Telegram noted that the Target, Costco and At Home stores in the development were not part of the sale. The new owner said it planned wayfinding improvements and more signage at Presidio Junction during 2026. That's worth knowing if you've ever circled the lot trying to find a specific storefront.
The bookstore took over an existing 12,000-square-foot space rather than a new building. That's a little over half the size of the 20,000-square-foot Montgomery Plaza store going into the former Office Depot near West 7th.
Opening day at Presidio Junction
Barnes & Noble planned a full day of local programming for the opening. According to the store's event page, the Nov. 4 schedule includes:
- 10 a.m.: Ribbon cutting by bestselling author Kayla Olson, followed by a book signing
- During the day: Nature writer Amy Martin discussing and signing Wild DFW
- 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.: Cat in the Hat storytimes
Community Impact noted that the store sells books, toys, games and vinyl records, and that it joins 18 Barnes & Noble locations already in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Having a local nature writer on the opening lineup fits the chain's "local bookstore" approach. Under that strategy, each store is expected to build its own events calendar, so the regional authors and storytimes on opening day are a reasonable preview of what this store's calendar will look like.
The independents filled the gap in smaller spaces
During those 13 years, the book business north of Loop 820 moved into smaller and more flexible spaces. Two shops show how.
A House With Books is at 1101 Bear Creek Parkway in Keller. The Fort Worth Report included it in an April 2026 roundup of independent bookstores seeing customers come back, and the shop's own site lists an October 2026 events calendar.
The Novel Narwhal moved twice. It started as an online bookstore, then had a space at The Market at Roanoke. When The Market relocated to Keller in May, owners Kelli and Melissa Whall found the new spot wasn't a fit. On Aug. 22 they opened a pop-up inside Aromas on Oak, a coffee shop at 400 S. Oak St. in Roanoke. "We really enjoy the customers at Aromas," Kelli Whall told Community Impact, adding that the shop plans to shape its onsite inventory around what those customers read. Custom orders are available through the shop's website and social media.
With the Presidio store open, north Fort Worth has a large chain store and two small shops that take special orders, all within a short drive.
| Where | Address | Format | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnes & Noble Presidio Junction | 2329 Porter Creek Drive, Fort Worth | 12,000 sq ft chain store with books, toys, games and vinyl | Grand opening Nov. 4, 2026 |
| Barnes & Noble Montgomery Plaza | 401 Carroll Street, Fort Worth | 20,000 sq ft chain store in a former Office Depot | Listed as opening Nov. 18, 2026 |
| A House With Books | 1101 Bear Creek Parkway, Keller | Independent bookstore with an events calendar | Operating, October 2026 calendar posted |
| The Novel Narwhal | Inside Aromas on Oak, 400 S. Oak St., Roanoke | Independent pop-up in a coffee shop, custom orders | Opened Aug. 22, 2026 |
| Barnes & Noble Southlake Town Square | 1430 Plaza Place, Southlake | Chain store | Operating |
| Barnes & Noble Hulen Center | 4801 Overton Ridge Blvd., Fort Worth | Chain store serving South Fort Worth | Operating |
Making a November afternoon of it
The bookstore lands in a corridor that has several new openings this fall. That makes it easy to pair with lunch or holiday shopping.
Gyrova Mediterranean Grill opened Oct. 16 at 8561 N. Beach St. It serves bowls, wraps and pita with freshly shaved gyro meat. Mi ChanTe Mexican Cuisine is projected to open in mid-November at 3300 Alliance Gateway Freeway, Suite 140, with indoor and patio seating, according to Community Impact. That date is a projection, so check before you go.
Up I-35W, Tanger Fort Worth's Holiday Market runs Nov. 21 and 22 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. It's in Center Court near Polo Ralph Lauren and features local makers and small businesses. A book from Presidio plus a gift from a local maker at Tanger covers a good part of a holiday list without leaving the north side.
For readers in central Fort Worth, Montgomery Plaza is scheduled to open Nov. 18, just ahead of that weekend. By Thanksgiving, Fort Worth should have three Barnes & Noble stores again, and for the first time since 2013, one of them is on the north side.
New stores, restaurants and seasonal events change what a weekend in north Fort Worth looks like, and buyers relocating to the area want that kind of detail. At The Pistana Group, we keep up with what opens near the homes we represent and make it part of how we market them. If you're planning a sale in north Tarrant County and want buyers to see what everyday life nearby looks like, Request a Premium Listing Consultation.
